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Kane Williamson retires from international cricket after 110 Tests

Kane Williamson has ended his international career, finishing with 33 Test hundreds and over 19,000 runs for New Zealand across all three formats.

By SportCricket Desk · 12 Jun 2026 · 2 min read

Kane Williamson has announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing the curtain down on a career that made him one of the finest batters New Zealand has produced.

In his own words

In a statement released through New Zealand Cricket, Williamson said he has always been proud to represent his country but felt his hunger for the international game had slowly faded. He said carrying on with anything less than full commitment would not be right, and that he feels fortunate to leave on his own terms.

He added that he is optimistic about the direction of the current group, pointing to a large amount of talent and a genuine desire to achieve something special, and described the side as one he loves and has been lucky to be part of for so long.

A career in numbers

Williamson made his ODI debut against India in 2010. He went on to play 110 Tests, 175 ODIs and 93 T20Is, scoring more than 19,000 international runs.

  • 33 Test centuries
  • 14 ODI hundreds
  • Most international runs and centuries by a New Zealander
  • Elite averages in Tests, ODIs and T20Is

He is often grouped with Steve Smith, Joe Root and Virat Kohli as one of the “Fab Four” of modern Test batting, and he departs just short of 10,000 Test runs.

Staying in the game

Williamson is expected to remain involved in cricket through mentoring and coaching roles. He has already started working in franchise cricket as a strategy advisor within an IPL set-up.

Kane WilliamsonNew ZealandRetirementTest cricket

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